1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of the play NOT THE FILM of Real Women Have Curves. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
Real Women Have Curves takes place during the first week of September in 1987 in a tiny sewing factory in East Los Angeles. The sewing shop is owned by 24-year-old Estella Garcia, an undocumented first generation immigrant from Mexico. Employed at the sewing shop is Estella's 18-year-old sister Ana, Estella's mother, 48-year-old Carmen, 32-year-old Pancha, and 29-year-old Rosali. All of the women are relatively larger and are all assumedly first-generation Mexican-American immigrants. The women, all have recently achieved the necessary paperwork to be official and legal citizens of the United States. At the start of the play, Ana is currently a student who works in the factory in hopes of being able to attend college at NYU in the fall. Ana is an outspoken feminist who preaches self-confidence and inclusivity of all women of various body types while the other women are more conservative and old-fashioned. The women are nervous by the potential threat of possible invasions by la migra or the immigration police. Estella is pressed to reach a deadline in order to provide dresses for the distributor so she can pay her rent and other necessary bills. To escape from the stress and sometimes hectic environment of the sewing shop, Ana retreats to the bathroom in order to journal about her experiences in the factory.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken in the play and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion of the play that breaks the stasis of the play is the moment in Act One when Estella reveals to the women is an undocumented immigrant. All of the other women hold the proper permits and paperwork to stay legal residents in the United States except for Estella. When Estella reveals to the women that she is, in fact, an undocumented immigrant and will be unable to become an official United States resident due to her criminal background, the women begin to change their attitudes as they are required to live in a more hushed, quiet, and isolated environment so they are not discovered by the immigration police or la migra in order to keep Estella safe. The reveal leads to the other dramatic action that proceeds including the fight between Estella and Pancha among other theatrical and dramatic events.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
This is the day that the five women go to work in Estella's sewing factory while being tormented by the possibility of being exposed to the immigration police as well as the day that Ana begins to journal about her experiences working with the women in the sewing factory. This is a critical point in Ana's life as she is coming to terms with her individuality and her femininity as she is a recent high school graduate and is looking forward to leaving her situation in hopes of becoming a successful writer in New York. This position allows Ana to have a much broader and more holistic world view than the other women of the play. The time and place also attribute to the actions of the play as the date, 1987, was a critical time for immigration in the United States, particularly in East L.A., a predominately Latino neighborhood.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
The dramatic question of the play is: Will Estella be able to remain in the United States safe from la migra and will her factory be able to resist failure and the pressure of the outside world? And will Ana be able to become a successful writer in New York and escape her current predicament? In the end, Estella does end up remaining in the United States and is not discovered by la migra as Carmen has been confusing LAPD with la migra. In addition, Estella's company thrives until she is able to create her own boutique in Los Angeles called Real Women Have Curves. Ana also is able to become a successful writer and move to New York.
5. Use Ana, the central character, to answer the questions. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what Ana wants (NOTE: In Real Women Ana's wants seem to be in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. Theyare:a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles.
Ana's conflict within herself is the conflict that stems from her identity as a Latina woman who is trying to find confidence and acceptance within herself and her conflicting identities. Ana hopes to escape the realities of her situation in Los Angeles and attend New York University to become a writer. Meanwhile, Ana has to come to terms with her identity as a Latina woman while learning to live with her family and their expectations for her future in addition to her own views, goals, and aspirations, for her future. Ana is much more a free-thinker, liberal minded individual than the other women in the factory. While Ana preaches liberation and equality and acceptance of women and all body types, the other women tend to ignore their intersectionality and disregard Ana's comments as young an immature until the scene where they all strip down to their underwear and compare their bodies. Ana's conflict with society is illustrated by her crisis to identify as a strong and confident curvy woman rather than conform to the beauty standards that have been created by mainstream media and common American heritage. Ana's struggle with society is furthered even more through her struggle to persuade the women that they too are beautiful despite their curves simply due to the fact that they have been essentially brainwashed by society into thinking that thin is in and that because they are curvy, they are not beautiful.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Real Women Have Curves.
The most theatrical moment in Real Women Have Curves is the moment when the women strip down to their underwear in the sewing shop as instigated by Ana due to the unbearable heat in the sweat shop. The scene's theatricality is important as it is the scene when the women finally accept their bodies for all of their flaws and insecurities and realize that their bodies are all beautiful. The scene is liberating for the women involved and it inspires Estella to open up her own boutique to sell her own dresses for women of all body shapes and body sizes. The theatricality is achieved through the actual act of stripping down to the women's underwear and being on stage fully exposed and yet happy and gleeful while comparing bodies and scars and stretch marks and other disfigurations. While the scene is extremely theatrical and dramatic, it is also the most liberating and influential scene in the play.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Real Women. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
There are multiple images in Real Women Have Curves including the sewing factory, the dresses, and Ana's journal. The sewing factory is an image that illustrates the isolation and separation from the real world that women felt. As Mexican immigrants, the women had to constantly hide from la migra and the immigration police in order to maintain legal and safe residential status in the United States. The women's experiences in the factory served as their safe-haven of sorts. It was a place that the women felt well represented their ideals and culture in a safe and isolated environment from the rest of the outside world. The image of the dresses illustrates the material wealth and objects that women feel that they are unable to have. The women feel less than worthy to own any of the dresses of which they spend their hours slaving over due to their ethnic and national status as well as their size. The women feel that dresses, much like other material objects in America, are too good for them and are above their ability to possess. However, at the end of the play, as illustrated by the amount success of Estella's boutique and the evening gowns worn by the women, they have come to terms with their confidence and realized that they too are capable and worthy of all things, regardless of size. The image of Ana's journal acts as an illustration of her escape from the world of the factory. Ana clearly holds aspirations to achieve a life of success as a writer in New York and seems to view herself as slightly removed from the lives of the women who work in the factory. Ana's journal illustrates the sort of isolation and escape for her as she takes breaks to go to the bathroom and write about her experiences working in the factory with the other women.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Real Women.
Themes in Real Women Have Curves include the themes of acceptance, confidence, female friendship, and self-love. The theme is acceptance is explored as the women begin to strip down and accept their bodies for all of their flaws and insecurities as they realize that their bodies are beautiful despite their difference from the basic American standard of beauty. Confidence is explored through Ana's confidence that she exhibits in the play based off of her acceptance of her body image and her outward quirks that were so often looked down upon by the other women. Female friendship is important to the themes of the play as the women, despite not being blood-related, are each other's source of inspiration and hope in a time where there were so many things stacked against them. The women and their friendships act as a sort of pseudo-family that uplifts and inspires each other despite the happenings of the outside world.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Real Women? Is family redefined in this play? If so, how and why?
In the play, the only characters who are actually family include Ana, Estella, and Carmen. The three women are related and that is the reason why Ana is working at the factory, to begin with. However, the real family of Real Women Have Curves is the pseudo-family that is created between the women. The women are constantly in the same work space and are with each other at the most vulnerable times of their lives. It is important to the women to bond in a way that they are unable to bond with others. The women are truly experiencing unique experiences that only Latina women in the 1980's are able to experience, and due to these inter-woven connections, they are able to be each other's real support systems and each other's family despite the lack of blood relation.
Worksheet for Real Women Have Curves
1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of the play NOT THE FILM of Real Women Have Curves. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
Real Women Have Curves takes place during the first week of September in 1987 in a tiny sewing factory in East Los Angeles. The sewing shop is owned by 24-year-old Estella Garcia, an undocumented first generation immigrant from Mexico. Employed at the sewing shop is Estella's 18-year-old sister Ana, Estella's mother, 48-year-old Carmen, 32-year-old Pancha, and 29-year-old Rosali. All of the women are relatively larger and are all assumedly first-generation Mexican-American immigrants. The women, all have recently achieved the necessary paperwork to be official and legal citizens of the United States. At the start of the play, Ana is currently a student who works in the factory in hopes of being able to attend college at NYU in the fall. Ana is an outspoken feminist who preaches self-confidence and inclusivity of all women of various body types while the other women are more conservative and old-fashioned. The women are nervous by the potential threat of possible invasions by la migra or the immigration police. Estella is pressed to reach a deadline in order to provide dresses for the distributor so she can pay her rent and other necessary bills. To escape from the stress and sometimes hectic environment of the sewing shop, Ana retreats to the bathroom in order to journal about her experiences in the factory.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken in the play and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion of the play that breaks the stasis of the play is the moment in Act One when Estella reveals to the women is an undocumented immigrant. All of the other women hold the proper permits and paperwork to stay legal residents in the United States except for Estella. When Estella reveals to the women that she is, in fact, an undocumented immigrant and will be unable to become an official United States resident due to her criminal background, the women begin to change their attitudes as they are required to live in a more hushed, quiet, and isolated environment so they are not discovered by the immigration police or la migra in order to keep Estella safe. The reveal leads to the other dramatic action that proceeds including the fight between Estella and Pancha among other theatrical and dramatic events.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
This is the day that the five women go to work in Estella's sewing factory while being tormented by the possibility of being exposed to the immigration police as well as the day that Ana begins to journal about her experiences working with the women in the sewing factory. This is a critical point in Ana's life as she is coming to terms with her individuality and her femininity as she is a recent high school graduate and is looking forward to leaving her situation in hopes of becoming a successful writer in New York. This position allows Ana to have a much broader and more holistic world view than the other women of the play. The time and place also attribute to the actions of the play as the date, 1987, was a critical time for immigration in the United States, particularly in East L.A., a predominately Latino neighborhood.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
The dramatic question of the play is: Will Estella be able to remain in the United States safe from la migra and will her factory be able to resist failure and the pressure of the outside world? And will Ana be able to become a successful writer in New York and escape her current predicament? In the end, Estella does end up remaining in the United States and is not discovered by la migra as Carmen has been confusing LAPD with la migra. In addition, Estella's company thrives until she is able to create her own boutique in Los Angeles called Real Women Have Curves. Ana also is able to become a successful writer and move to New York.
5. Use Ana, the central character, to answer the questions. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what Ana wants (NOTE: In Real Women Ana's wants seem to be in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles.
Ana's conflict within herself is the conflict that stems from her identity as a Latina woman who is trying to find confidence and acceptance within herself and her conflicting identities. Ana hopes to escape the realities of her situation in Los Angeles and attend New York University to become a writer. Meanwhile, Ana has to come to terms with her identity as a Latina woman while learning to live with her family and their expectations for her future in addition to her own views, goals, and aspirations, for her future. Ana is much more a free-thinker, liberal minded individual than the other women in the factory. While Ana preaches liberation and equality and acceptance of women and all body types, the other women tend to ignore their intersectionality and disregard Ana's comments as young an immature until the scene where they all strip down to their underwear and compare their bodies. Ana's conflict with society is illustrated by her crisis to identify as a strong and confident curvy woman rather than conform to the beauty standards that have been created by mainstream media and common American heritage. Ana's struggle with society is furthered even more through her struggle to persuade the women that they too are beautiful despite their curves simply due to the fact that they have been essentially brainwashed by society into thinking that thin is in and that because they are curvy, they are not beautiful.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Real Women Have Curves.
The most theatrical moment in Real Women Have Curves is the moment when the women strip down to their underwear in the sewing shop as instigated by Ana due to the unbearable heat in the sweat shop. The scene's theatricality is important as it is the scene when the women finally accept their bodies for all of their flaws and insecurities and realize that their bodies are all beautiful. The scene is liberating for the women involved and it inspires Estella to open up her own boutique to sell her own dresses for women of all body shapes and body sizes. The theatricality is achieved through the actual act of stripping down to the women's underwear and being on stage fully exposed and yet happy and gleeful while comparing bodies and scars and stretch marks and other disfigurations. While the scene is extremely theatrical and dramatic, it is also the most liberating and influential scene in the play.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Real Women. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
There are multiple images in Real Women Have Curves including the sewing factory, the dresses, and Ana's journal. The sewing factory is an image that illustrates the isolation and separation from the real world that women felt. As Mexican immigrants, the women had to constantly hide from la migra and the immigration police in order to maintain legal and safe residential status in the United States. The women's experiences in the factory served as their safe-haven of sorts. It was a place that the women felt well represented their ideals and culture in a safe and isolated environment from the rest of the outside world. The image of the dresses illustrates the material wealth and objects that women feel that they are unable to have. The women feel less than worthy to own any of the dresses of which they spend their hours slaving over due to their ethnic and national status as well as their size. The women feel that dresses, much like other material objects in America, are too good for them and are above their ability to possess. However, at the end of the play, as illustrated by the amount success of Estella's boutique and the evening gowns worn by the women, they have come to terms with their confidence and realized that they too are capable and worthy of all things, regardless of size. The image of Ana's journal acts as an illustration of her escape from the world of the factory. Ana clearly holds aspirations to achieve a life of success as a writer in New York and seems to view herself as slightly removed from the lives of the women who work in the factory. Ana's journal illustrates the sort of isolation and escape for her as she takes breaks to go to the bathroom and write about her experiences working in the factory with the other women.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Real Women.
Themes in Real Women Have Curves include the themes of acceptance, confidence, female friendship, and self-love. The theme is acceptance is explored as the women begin to strip down and accept their bodies for all of their flaws and insecurities as they realize that their bodies are beautiful despite their difference from the basic American standard of beauty. Confidence is explored through Ana's confidence that she exhibits in the play based off of her acceptance of her body image and her outward quirks that were so often looked down upon by the other women. Female friendship is important to the themes of the play as the women, despite not being blood-related, are each other's source of inspiration and hope in a time where there were so many things stacked against them. The women and their friendships act as a sort of pseudo-family that uplifts and inspires each other despite the happenings of the outside world.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Real Women? Is family redefined in this play? If so, how and why?
In the play, the only characters who are actually family include Ana, Estella, and Carmen. The three women are related and that is the reason why Ana is working at the factory, to begin with. However, the real family of Real Women Have Curves is the pseudo-family that is created between the women. The women are constantly in the same work space and are with each other at the most vulnerable times of their lives. It is important to the women to bond in a way that they are unable to bond with others. The women are truly experiencing unique experiences that only Latina women in the 1980's are able to experience, and due to these inter-woven connections, they are able to be each other's real support systems and each other's family despite the lack of blood relation.